A deadly stampede in India

Plus, Alibaba releases AI model it says surpasses DeepSeek.

Sign up for Reuters newsletters  Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Edson Caldas Police sources say nearly 40 bodies were brought to a morgue after a stampede in northern India, Donald Trump's aid freeze stirs chaos before it is blocked in court, and Alibaba releases an artificial intelligence model it says surpasses DeepSeek. Plus, how over 150 bird strikes a day challenge aviation. Today's Top News   A policeman escorts a devotee after a stampede at the "Maha Kumbh Mela" or the Great Pitcher Festival. REUTERS/Sharafat Ali Nearly 40 bodies were brought to a hospital morgue after a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela in northern India, police sources told Reuters, as tens of millions gathered to bathe in sacred river waters on the most auspicious day of a six-week festival. We look at what is special about today's 'royal bath' and how India has been managing the world's largest gathering. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump's pick to lead the top US health agency, is set to face a grilling from Senate Democrats and Republicans today over his views on vaccines, abortion and potential conflicts of interest. Trump's attempt to freeze federal aid has been temporarily blocked in court, just minutes before it was due to take effect. On today's Reuters World News podcast, Correspondent Andy Sullivan weighs in on the chaos the move triggered and the fears that it would disrupt programs on which millions of Americans depend. Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. An opinion poll indicated that 85% of Greenlanders do not wish their Arctic island to become a part of the United States, with nearly half saying they see interest by Trump as a threat. The US told Rwanda it was "deeply troubled" by the fall of Goma in eastern Congo to Rwandan-backed M23 rebels, who appeared to have consolidated control over the city in just two days. Five people were injured in an Israeli drone strike targeting the southern Lebanese town of Majdal Selm today, the Lebanese health ministry said. Elsewhere in the Middle East, we go inside a hospital in Jordan that offers injured Gazans hope for recovery. Business & Markets   Alibaba says its AI model surpasses GPT-4o, DeepSeek-V3 and Llama-3.1-405B. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo Alibaba released a new version of its Qwen 2.5 AI model that it claimed surpassed the acclaimed DeepSeek-V3. The unusual timing of the release, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, points to the pressure DeepSeek's meteoric rise has placed on not just overseas rivals, but also its domestic ones. Dutch chip firm ASML reported fourth-quarter bookings of 7.09 billion euros that far exceeded expectations, as a boom in AI drove demand for its most advanced equipment. European shares hit a record high this morning as ASML lifted tech stocks. Luxury giant LVMH is "seriously considering" bulking up its production capacities in the US, CEO Bernard Arnault said, praising a "wind of optimism" in the country that contrasted with the "cold shower" of potentially higher corporate taxes in France. Sweden's central bank cut its key policy rate to 2.25% from 2.50% as expected to boost sluggish economic growth and said its forecast for interest rates held though it stood ready to act if the outlook for prices and activity changed. Later today, the Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady as it awaits further inflation and jobs data and more clarity on the economic impact of Trump's policies before deciding whether to cut borrowing costs again. In Graphics: Bird strikes are a serious challenge for aviation   Despite how common bird strikes are, serious incidents are rare yet often fatal. One month after the deadly crash at Muan airport a preliminary report has revealed blood and feathers were found in both engines. The remains of the migratory Baikal teal, a Siberian duck, provide evidence that a bird strike happened during those fatal final minutes. In this visual piece, our graphics team shows how over 150 bird strikes a day challenge the aviation industry. Read more And Finally... Mercedes 1955 'streamliner' set to smash F1 record at auction. REUTERS/Thomas Peter A sleek, long-nosed Mercedes raced by Stirling Moss and five-times Formula One world champion Juan Manuel Fangio in 1955 could become the most expensive grand prix car of all time at an auction. It is being sold at a target price of more than 50 million euros. Read more Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. 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